Steve Orlando promised the debut of many new 2099 characters in his limited series Spider-Man 2099: Exodus. But the writer also promised the return of many of the original Marvel 2099 characters like X-Men 2099.
And in August's Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #5, the series finale, readers will get both - new and returning X-Men from the 2099 future.
The series marks the 30th anniversary of the debut of the 2099 imprint, and not too far removed from the events of Marvel's current-day event Judgment Day, a Celestial falls to Earth in the grim, dystopian 2099 future.
Miguel O'Hara, AKA Spider-Man 2099, tries to protect the hope the Celestial brings, and each issue of the Exodus series features Spider-Man 2099 crossing paths with new and returning characters and elements of his world.
in Exodus #5, Orlando and artist Kim Jacinto debut the new X-Men 2099, with original 2099 characters like Cerebra, Krystalin, and Bloodhawk along with new additions o the team sporting familiar names like Cyclops, Northstar, Phoenix, and Kid Cable.
Check out a gallery of character designs of the new characters:
"From the comics to the toys, X-men 2099 was nothing more than the coolest stuff for me when I was just dipping my toe into reading monthly comics, launching right as I switched over from reading whatever I could from flea market back issue bins, to finally having a comic store and following books month to month," Orlando explains in Marvel's release accompanying the designs.
"The world was desolate and engrossing, the team was both familiar and different -- a ragtag chosen family of mutants just struggling to survive. So, to celebrate that for 2099's 30th Anniversary is just kickass. To get to work with some of the first X-Men I ever met? Just kickass. And to add to that family, with faces both old and new? That's like some cross-temporal electricity jolting back to whatever part of my brain holds my childhood. It wouldn't be 2099 without the X-Men, and here? We've got a team built to nod to the past but also dive headlong into the future!"
"It's such a great honor to design these characters! My design choices are inspired by different artists like Greg Baldwin and Dave Guertin from CreaturBox, Sean Galloway, Segi Brosa just to name a few. Looking at their designs helped me to envision and create these X-Men 2099 characters," Jacinto adds. "This is a dream come true for me!"
Marvel has also released a few first look pages from the series, along with covers by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Arif Prianto, Ken Lashley and Juan Fernandez, and Ron Lim and Israel Silva.
Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #5 goes on sale August 3.
Spider-Man 2099 ranks among the best Spider-Mans in the entire Marvel Multiverse.
